Monitoring events in Balochistan, CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor), China's Belt and Road Initiative and it's economic and strategic implications, Pakistan Military operations and ongoing Baloch struggle.News and Reports are collected from open sources to raise awareness among scholars, researchers and public in general.

Judiciary attaches special importance to CPEC: Justice Irfan

Senior Judge of Sindh High Court, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan has said that Judiciary attaches paramount importance to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and special benches have been set up at the level of the Supreme Court and all the High Courts to hear CPEC-related disputes. He said In Sindh High Court bench comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.

He was speaking as the Chief Guest at a seminar on “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Related Laws, Importance and Enforcement”, which was organised by the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law (SZABUL) here at a local hotel. The seminar was presided over by the federal secretary planning and Development Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui while Secretary Federal Education & Professional Training Akbar Durrani was the guest of honour.

Justice Irfan Saadat said CPEC likely to boost the country’s economy by 2.25 percent per annum while it will generate many jobs in the country. He said right now 16 CPEC-related development projects in Balochistan, 8 in KPK, 13 in Sindh and 12 in Punjab are underway while beside the 3000km long corridor, the local infrastructure which is directly connected to the corridor will also be improved.

He told the participants in the last meeting of the National Judicial Policymaking committee, which was held with Chief Justice Mian Saquib Nisar in the chair, it was decided that no stay order would be allowed in any CPEC-related dispute without hearing the other party. Earlier, in his welcome address, founding Vice Chancellor SZABUL Justice (Retd) Qazi Khalid Ali said the CPEC has marked the epoch of industrial, commercial and economic progress in Pakistan that is why many related projects are being conceived for a better future. He said when two countries enter an agreement of such a high magnitude, a need for comprehensive laws applicable and acceptable to both the nations emerges. The need for such laws, he said, even intensifies when one of the signatories is a developing nation. The aim of this seminar is to do need assessment for rules and laws for successful and productive implementation of the agreement.

Qazi Khalid said SZABUL has offered its services for the development of all such laws. Federal Secretary Planning Development and Reforms Shuaib Siddiqui said CPEC is an agreement between two time-tested friends which has inspired confidence in the nation. He said there is an old Chines proverb that one should teach the poor how to catch fish instead of giving them fish in alms.
The CPEC will teach us how to catch fish and we should benefit from this project as a responsible nation that is why we should study the CPEC project in minute details. He said in some universities of the country CPEC-Cells have been set up while Chines is being taught to Pakistanis in many Local and Chinese universities and aim of these steps is to make CPEC a success

Secretary Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training Akbar Durrani said the legal infrastructure required for smooth sail and sustainability of the CPEC will gradually emerge but there is a need to understand the project itself. He said in a country where lakhs of people had died and property worth millions of rupee had been destroyed its friendly country comes forward and offers to invest 45 billion dollars; it is not something normal or insignificant. He said China made this offer at a time when no other country was willing to invest in Pakistan.

Former Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan said in the current legal system of Pakistan related to CPEC Transport and Logistics Investment, we need to elaborate the exclusive CPEC logistics investments in Pakistan by China, to study and discuss its legal and policy-based perspectives. In Pakistan, he said, domestic road transport and logistics laws, Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965, National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000, National highways authority Act 1991 and similar statues can only fulfil the demand of domestic overland logistics

The Newspaper's Staff CorrespondentOctober 25, 2017QUETTA: The provincial cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft for establishing a medical university in Balochistan.Health minister Mir Rehmat Saleh Baloch made the announcement while speaking at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.“The cabinet has approved the draft of the medical university which would be presented in the current session of the Balochistan Assembly,” he said, adding with the assembly’s approval the Bolan Medical College would be converted into a medical university.Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2017

The Rise of China-Europe RailwaysMarch 6, 2018The Dawn of a New Commercial Era?For over two millennia, technology and politics have shaped trade across the Eurasian supercontinent. The compass and domesticated camels helped the “silk routes” emerge between 200 and 400 CE, and peaceful interactions between the Han and Hellenic empires allowed overland trade to flourish. A major shift occurred in the late fifteenth century, when the invention of large ocean-going vessels and new navigation methods made maritime trade more competitive. Mercantilism and competition among Europe’s colonial powers helped pull commerce to the coastlines. Since then, commerce between Asia and Europe has traveled primarily by sea.1Against this historical backdrop, new railway services between China and Europe have emerged rapidly. Just 10 years ago, regular direct freight services from China to Europe did not exist.2 Today, they connect roughly 35 Chinese…